AstraZeneca To Close Two ex-Amgen Plants in Colorado

By Patricia Van Arnum - DCAT Editorial Director

February 1, 2019

AstraZeneca plans to close two biomanufacturing plants in Colorado, one in Boulder and another in Longmont, due to what the company said is part of a global restructuring to streamline its biologics production and improve the efficiency of its supply chain. AstraZeneca had bought those plants from Amgen in separate deals, purchasing the Boulder facility in 2015 and the Longmont facility in 2016.

There will be 210 employees affected by the closures, according to a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) January 8, 2019 filing with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. A WARN notice is a federal requirement that provides notification of job reductions to various parties, including the appropriate unit of local government.

When AstraZeneca had purchased the plants, the company noted that approximately 50% of its pipeline was made up of biologics, and the plants were part of a plan to increase biomanufacturing capacity in the US with a plan for further investments at the plants. The Boulder and Longmont facility are not currently licensed for commercial manufacture.

AstraZeneca’s plan is to focus its biologics manufacturing network in the US in one large-scale drug-substance facility in Frederick, Maryland. The company recently invested $200 million to increase biomanufacturing capacity at that site, which was completed in 2017.